1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a scheme for managing devices, such as an information processing apparatus, a copier, a printer, and a computer which are located at remote places.
2. Description of the Related Art
A remote maintenance system for managing and operating devices, such as copiers, printers, and computers, by associating them with IP (internet protocol) addresses has been conventionally known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology in which it is determined whether or not a MAC address and an IP address are those of an asset being managed and an alarm notification is issued to an administrator, user, or the like when the MAC address and the IP address are not being managed.
Meanwhile, for ease of management of history information such as the number of sheets printed or copied by a printer, copier, or digital multi-functional equipment and the use status of consumables, a scheme for managing log information by using IP addresses and by obtaining, for example, corresponding MAC addresses, product names, and device IDs based on the IP addresses is known. Reasons why devices are managed based on IP addresses are that IP addresses correspond to devices being managed on a one-to-one basis and can be assigned by an administer to allow for easy recognition of an association with the corresponding devices, unlike MAC addresses. In addition, MAC addresses, though unique to individual apparatuses, are complicated since they are 12-digit hexadecimal numbers, and, on the other hand, the use of product names causes inconvenience in management since the same product may be redundantly managed.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-290937 (United States Patent Application No. 20010029474)
In a configuration in which various types of information such as consumable information and an equipment status are managed by associating such information with device identification information such as an IP address, when the IP address is changed, the held information can become meaningless unless appropriate processing is performed. Specifically, for example, when a different device (a device B) is assigned to the same IP address, management of history information based on the IP address results in accumulation of the history of the original device (a device A) based on the history of the device B, thereby causing a critical mistake in history management.
In general, possible causes for a change of correspondence of an IP address or MAC address include movement of a device to a different subnet and a replacement of a device with a new one.
The foregoing problems cannot be overcome by a technology, as disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above, in which checking is only performed to determine whether or not a MAC address and an IP address are those of an asset being managed. That is, such a technology does not clarify which one of the IP address and the MAC address is found to be abnormal, and only issuing an alarm indicating that some abnormality is found causes a problem in that subsequent measures and various necessary processes cannot be promptly performed to cope with the abnormality.
In particular, maintenance of an image forming apparatuses involves management of accounting information such as the number of sheets printed, copied, or the like. Thus, the lack of ability of effectively detecting an abnormal IP address and/or MAC address can cause a problem in management of accounting information.